If you missed the GEMS teaser, Miami Dade College will host its 33rd Miami International Film Festival this year starting March 4th. The festival will run for a week, ending on March 13, and feature a plethora of Spanish films ready for their big American-debut. The Festival typically attracts upwards of 60,000 audience members and is the only major festival to take place at a college or university. Enthusiastic audience members gather with industry professionals, filmmakers, and talent, for a week of Ibero-American cinema and film education.
This year, the opening night film will be by one of Spain’s most beloved filmmakers, Álex de la Iglesia. Iglesia’s comedic film, My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche) stars Spanish pop icon Raphael along with an esteemed cast of Spanish stars. Raphael pokes fun at himself with his role as ‘Alphonso,’ an über-famous pop star with over 50 chart-topping years under his belt and plenty of behind-the-scenes commotion and drama to show for it. These backstage antics set the tone for what Jaie Laplante, the Festival’s executive director, calls a ‘party on screen.’ Perhaps the most celebrated attendee of the ‘party’ will be Raphael himself as he will be in attendance for the premiere. Iglesia’s My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche) will be shown at the Olympia Theater at Gusman Center, and kick off Miami Downtown Development Authority’s CINEDWNTWN series.
Following opening night, the remainder of the week’s films will be shown at the Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building, the Festival’s usual venue. Three major US film debuts include: Cesc Gay’s Truman, starring Ricardo Darîn and Javier Cåmara; Fernando González Molina’s big budget novel adaptation Palm Trees in the Snow (Palmeras en la nieve); and Emilio Martínez Lázaro’s Spanish Affair 2 (Ocho apellidos catalanes) – the sequel to the highest-grossing Spanish film of all-time. Find the full list of confirmed titles here.
The Festival will also feature a seminar by Centro Cultural Espanol (CCE), Accion Cultural Española (AC/E), and Miami Animation and Gaming International Complex (MAGIC) at Miami Dade College. “From Doodles to Pixels” uses more than 50 titles to illustrate ‘over a hundred years of Spanish animation.’
For tickets and more information visit www.miamifilmfestival.com or call 1-844-565-6433.
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